The Blast - October 17, 2025

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The Blast | Texas Tribune
October 17, 2025

By Renzo Downey and The Texas Tribune Politics Team

3 days until early voting begins
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52 days until the 2026 primary candidate filing deadline

IN TODAY’S BLAST

  • TX-34 jabs over fundraising

  • A candidate gap and more jabs

  • Abbott gets forces ready for Austin “No Kings” protest

TX-34 JABS OVER FUNDRAISING

The Floreses are duking it out in the 34th Congressional District over who’s the best with their campaign finances and who is best positioned to take on Democratic U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez.

Newcomer Eric Flores of Mission, an Army veteran and lawyer, raised $550,000 in 77 days — with the help of $250,000 of his own money that he staked on the race. Former U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores of Los Indios had more small-dollar help and raised $429,000. However, Mayra Flores’ campaign spent $421,000, hardly padding her cash on hand.

All eyes are on TX-34, one of five seats Republicans redrew to meet President Donald Trump’s demand for five new GOP seats in Texas in the coming midterms. Republicans have hoped to flip the district for several cycles now, but even Republican consultants doubt that the 10-point margin of victory Trump had in the new district is enough to carry a Republican congressional candidate to victory.

That is putting added pressure and extra scrutiny on the race.

In addition to her small-dollar donations, Mayra Flores received financial support from the leadership PACs of U.S. Reps. Tony Gonzales of San Antonio and Ronny Jackson of Amarillo. Eric Flores received funding from the campaign and leadership PAC of U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz of Edinburg, the leadership PAC of U.S. Rep. Jake Ellzey of Waxahachie and the Republican Main Street Partnership PAC, the latter signaling support from business-aligned GOP groups.

Eric Flores’ campaign called Mayra Flores a failed candidate for her two prior losses to Gonzalez, of McAllen, and highlighted that she burned through 98% of what she raised, including on salaries for her and her family and travel.

“Despite the lies and smear campaigns against us, we still out-raised everyone,” Mayra Flores posted on social media, discrediting her opponent’s loan. “Our campaign is powered by everyday people, not corporate money.”

Her official statement argued that she has been spending the thousands of dollars she’s raised to reach voters since the start of the race.

To her point, she spent hundreds of thousands on communications expenses. But as The Blast got into last month, Mayra Flores has continued to pay herself a candidate salary north of $6,000 per month, which is legal, though on the higher side. Her salary during the third quarter of 2025 added up to $18,500.

“I left my $150K job to dedicate myself full time,” she said, defending the expenditures last month. “I work 12 hours a day doing this.”

What The Blast didn’t address were her payments to family members, which continued during Q3.

“It is clear that the Mayra Flores campaign is a money-making enterprise rather than an actual campaign for Congress,” said Matt Brownfield, Eric Flores’ spokesperson.

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A CANDIDATE GAP AND MORE JABS

Former U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores swapped back to TX-34 in the hopes of rematching U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez after previously filing for TX-28, held by U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar. That’s left a hole in the GOP side for Cuellar’s district.

TX-28 is the other “reach” seat for Republicans among the five seats President Donald Trump requested. National Democrats hope Cuellar, of Laredo, can hold the seat in the face of his federal bribery charges.

With Flores shifting back to TX-34, Cuellar’s leading challenger is Jay Furman, who came within 6 points of ousting Cuellar last year despite being significantly outgunned in the race. He managed that despite the race not becoming a target of the National Republican Congressional Committee until that June. Furman was outspent 3-to-1, and some Republicans didn’t view him as a serious candidate.

Juan Esparza, the other Republican filed in TX-34, terminated his campaign committee on Aug. 13.

Furman only raised $31,000 this past quarter despite launching his campaign back in April and has only $19,000 cash on hand. That’s compared to Cuellar’s $224,000 raised and $364,000 on hand. Cuellar spent $219,000 to Furman’s $52,000.

Furman previously picked up endorsements from the likes of U.S. Reps. Beth Van Duyne of Irving and Chip Roy of Austin, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, Mike Flynn, Roger Stone and Tom Homan. However, he hasn’t picked up any endorsements this cycle. That, plus Furman’s paltry fundraising, suggests there’s still an opening for another Republican candidate.

Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina, who joined the GOP in December, has been weighing a congressional run for months and would immediately jump into the poll position in the primary.

Another race to watch is in TX-09, the new Houston-area Trump-leaning seat. The Blast reported on Wednesday that former Harris County judge candidate Alex Mealer outraised state Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park. Mealer raised $616,000 and posted $562,000 on hand. Cain raised $274,000 and left $267,000 on hand.

Mealer’s campaign came out hard against Cain yesterday afternoon.

“Briscoe Cain is a career politician who has spent the last decade cutting backroom deals in the Austin Swamp,” campaign consultant Evan Albertson said in a press release. “Now, Cain is asking voters for a promotion when he has not even performed his current job up to par. What’s more is Cain will never be able to win for this region. He has not done it in the state legislature, and he won’t do it in Congress.”

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ABBOTT GETS FORCES READY FOR AUSTIN “NO KINGS” PROTEST

Gov. Greg Abbott is sending law enforcement to Austin ahead of tomorrow’s anti-Trump “No Kings” protest, which Abbott’s office called an “antifa-linked demonstration.”

Abbott directed the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard to deploy state troopers, special agents, Texas Rangers and Texas National Guard soldiers, though Mayor Kirk Watson later added that the Guard would not be on the streets of Austin unless there was an “emergency need.” DPS will investigate links to known terrorist organizations at the Austin protest and other “No Kings” protests across the state, per Abbott’s office.

President Donald Trump Trump designated antifa as a terrorist organization last month. He’s commented on the Austin version of the nationwide protest, saying he might sue to stop the city from waiving fees for the protest, an effort the city council ultimately scrapped. Abbott, for his part, did not specify how the protest was connected to antifa.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz on Fox News said to “follow the money, cut off the money” for the protest, saying there’s evidence that liberal megadonor George Soros is behind it. Cruz has filed legislation that would let the U.S. Department of Justice consider riots when pursuing RICO cases, which target organized crime.

In a press release, Texas Democratic Party Chair Kendall Scudder said he will join the protest. He accused Abbott of trying to suck up to Trump by ordering DPS and National Guard forces to the capital.

“Our cities are not warzones or military training grounds, and we do not need an unnecessary display of force at the expense of taxpayers on a peaceful protest,” Scudder said. “Greg Abbott wants to incite violence against the crowd and try to make you afraid to come out, exactly like a king or those protecting a king would. It’s not going to work.”

Abbott’s freshly announced political challenger, state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, said the governor should “personally reimburse Texas taxpayers” for what she characterized as a “political stunt.”

“Greg Abbott is mobilizing state law enforcement to intimidate peaceful protesters because he cares more about getting on cable news than helping Texans,” Hinojosa said in a statement.

Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso, announced this afternoon that he’ll attend the protest.

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  • TX-SEN: U.S. Sen. John Cornyn picked up from 22 Houston-area Republicans who are out or on their way out of politics, including former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, former U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Chair Kevin Brady, former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Phillips, retiring state Rep. Sam Harless, and former state Reps. Patricia Harless and Jacey Jetton.

  • TX-SEN, cont’d: The progressive group No Dem Left Behind endorsed state Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin. The group also endorsed progressive Maine oyster farmer Graham Platner in his bid to oust Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins. Term-limited Gov. Janet Mills entered the Democratic primary this week with the encouragement of national Democrats like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

  • TX-18: U.S. Reps. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas and Lizzie Fletcher of Houston, Erica Lee Carter and Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis will join Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee for a get out the vote rally on Sunday. Former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards will cast her ballot on Monday, the first day of early voting in the special election. Tina Knowles, mother of Beyoncé, endorsed Edwards yesterday. The 24-hour report period of independent expenditures began yesterday.

  • SD-4: Gov. Greg Abbott has set Saturday, May 2, for the special election to decide the successor to state Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, who resigned to become chancellor of the Texas Tech University System. Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon has been endorsed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in that race.

  • Texas House: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz joined the Trump program and endorsed every House Republican who is running for reelection, minus state Rep. Gary VanDeaver of New Boston.

  • HD-86: Republican Jamie Haynes launched her campaign for the seat held by state Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, who has not yet announced whether he’ll seek reelection.

  • Gov. Greg Abbott spoke at the 2025 Texas Nuclear Summit today and received the Atomic Texan Award. This year he signed House Bill 14, which created the Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Office within the governor’s office and put $250 million into a new Texas Advanced Nuclear Development Fund.

  • Julie Straus, the wife of former Texas House Speaker Joe Straus has been found safe after going missing last night in Terrell Hills.

  • Gov. Greg Abbott will present the 2025 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix trophy on Sunday at the Circuit of the Americas.

  • U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz will do a live taping of his podcast at Kalahari in Round Rock on Saturday, Nov. 1.

Do you or someone in your office have a new job you’d like mentioned? Email us.

  • Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday appointed Brandon L. Simmons as Texas’ first higher education ombudsman. Read more here.

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“Dallas mayor wants to explore partnership with ICE after police chief declined” by Devyani Chhetri of The Dallas Morning News

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(Oct. 17) AARP Texas’ Mark Hollis
(Oct. 18) Former Dallas Morning News Austin Bureau Chief Bob Garrett
(Oct. 18) State Rep. Hillary Hickland, R-Belton
(Oct. 19) State Rep. Diego Bernal, D-San Antonio
(Oct. 19) State Rep. Christian Manuel, D-Beaumont

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